2nd year uni (starting 2018)

[HSMMaCM]

The old thread seems to have filled up!

BTM, I have not done much research. However I am sure there will be expensive provision somewhere favoured by overseas students and postgrads, plus a friend's son (who was probably not proactive enough) found a bed sit in a building owned by a church which was effectively a hall in that there were 20 or so such bedsits. And indeed there is a bedsit in DDs building.

None of this would be ideal as it would be quite isolating, but I doubt DD or your niece will need a plan B. It is very early days. DS, who did not make any effort as he had the option of living at home, found himself invited by friends to take up a room in an existing flat at about Easter.

But I agree. There is huge social pressure on first years. Expectations of University can be very high, and those that don't fall on their feet can feel very "Billy-no-mates" especially if they had a good and supportive friendship group at school. Particularly so with scientists/mathematicians as you need to keep up and cannot afford to have an extended freshers week.

Tell her that it will be OK, and that she can reasonably assume that if she reaches out to people, there will be others in the same boat for house hunting, and indeed others in the same boat in terms of finding "their people".

Traditionally second year was for losing the friends you made in your first year. And there willl always be some who take their time building friendships. This househunting lark is way too early.

Yes it is very early. Mine are by and large for year 3 sticking with the same people unless they are going abroad as this year 2 although one will be in a flat of 4 which is fewer people (although I suspect it makes it easier having lived here with 7 of us (5 children) and now fewer there is certainly less washing up. The other one of mine who is home says he is the only one who ever puts on the dishwasher - he was away for 3 days once and no one put it on and he seems to be in charge of it now. Welcome to the club I thought..... if you step in you tend to get lumbered with things but if that is the extent of his problems then he is a very lucky boy.. We went to the supermarket yesterday and he was loading up on cleaning stuff.

He was also telling me about a friend who has done tons of the things he said I did (I did) at university to further career prospects. Careers don't just magic themselves out of the sky when you graduate.

Thanks!
I think DD is fine - currently v happy in shared house with old flatmates from halls and plans for next year.

I agree it is far, far too early for Freshers to be house hunting. And DGodD will surely find others in the same boat. It's just horrid feeling left out. But at least she now knows that these girls aren't nice.

Xenia, indeed.

Also worth watching the "just stay on for a year and do a Masters". Unless it is an integrated Masters, you wont get loans, and fees for some can be very high. So a one year Masters in Finance and Private Equity at the LSE might sound like a great idea. However the fees are almost £36,000. Far better to get some internships (or even some agency temping - phone up HR and ask which agencies they use) over the summer and leave post grad till you know what field you are making your career in.

BTM, I meant my DD or your DGD. Sorry for confusion. And yes some girls are not nice. DD felt her first year flat was like Yr 7 all over again. Their problem not DGDs!

They know my views on masters. If they came to me with some well thought out career plan I might fund it but not otherwise.
I am now child "free" again as my son is driving back. He was not happy with the quality of printer and then hurt his leg on my office chair which has wheels stuck with blutack. I did point out one reason he will graduate debt free without student loans is that I have a slightly broken office chair and old printer . He didn't like the speed of my PC either (He was trying to complete letting forms here; anyway at least he has some kind of print out)

I'm half listening to radio 4 at the moment, I think they said in the intro to world at one that they'll be talking about internships.

I heard the piece. I thought it conveyed well the difference between work experience (not exploitative if short-term and involving actual on the job learning) and (exploitative) internships. I must say that I was surprised they didn’t explore further the shocking fact that the House of Commons allows the latter. Truly unfair on poorer young people, especially as they’re less likely to have connections.

I agree that a masters for the sake of it just because you don't know what else to do is a very expensive way of spending a year. Far better to do a year in industry/ work placement mid degree in terms of experience and contacts for many sectors.

Just dropped Dd at station after a lovely 3 days. Next stop Christmas!

Soon be here RedHelenB! DS is home 14/12 I think.

Had a lovely long chat with DS this afternoon-over an hour! He's booked train home and is hoping to have sorted accommodation for next year by next week. House meal tonight with mince pies and custard, as it's nearly Christmas apparently. He's working so hard but lovely to hear so happy too.
Only a short while until they're home for Christmas. [santa]

DD has put up her christmas tree already, as they're not going to be there for most of Christmas. I can't believe this term is almost over.

Not quite sure where she's living next year. Trying to get someone to replace the friend who's moving out.

Yes less than 3 weeks Horsemad. We're not trimming up until she's back. This term has gone quick!
Hope everyone gets their accomadation sorted . Papers signed so hopefully that's it for her as she's wanting to stay there for the next 3 years.

We're waiting for DS to come home before we do the tree as well! 🌲🌲🌲

We get our tree in mid December usually around my birthday. I thnk the theory behind that when I was a child was that our family December birthdays should not be subsumed into Christmas so get birthdays done and only then does Christmas season start and with tress up until epiphany 6 jan I suppose putting them up a bit later helps with needle drop.

My two had a nice visit from one of their big sisters today and all seem well. I don't think their end of term is clear. It is 21 Dec on the university website which started later than usual and ends later this year but we are assuming it might surely be a bit before that.

DDs 'full term' ends this Friday, but I think she's got a couple of supervisions the week after and then she's doing some schools STEM things and going to visit a friend before she comes home, which is planned to be the 20th.

Xenia, 21st Dec sounds right, though last year quite a lot of the non-scientists seemed to drift off early. A real pain for us as we want to visit her DB who is studying in the States. Its going to be a jet lagged Christmas. And, because she had a three week placement before others went back, a really long term.

That said the LSE shifted to two long terms and one short term when DS was there. It was good as they had two solid blocks of 12 weeks of teaching then a much shorter exam term. Teaching effectively finishing at Easter meant lots of time to focus on revision.

It's one reason we are not going skiing this Christmas. One of mine is doing a BSc and one a BA so they may be back at different times or one might stay back and they drive back together.

Doing a Masters hot on the heels of your undergraduate degree can be a strategic mistake. Far better to take a gap year, doing some serious internships (off cycle internships are a bit easier to get than summer internships and they are longer, meaning that you get more time to suss the industry out), before doing a Masters. That way you finish your studies with some meaty work experience and you are a bit older and more mature.

Unless it is an integrated Masters, you wont get loans, and fees for some can be very high.
You certainly do get a fees loan for a non integrated masters. ds1 was a post grad student last year and got his loan in exactly the same way as he did for his undergaduate degree. Different subject and diferent insitution so not integrated in any way whatsoever. Masters loans are £10609 for the next academic year and SFE now do PhD loans now up to £25K

Ah, I didnt know that. I knew there were PG loans but thought that they came under different funding.

How long are they for and how much do they pay. DS opted for an expensive (circa £25k) 10 month Masters close to home rather than a two year Masters away from home, where the annual fees were closer to £14k. In his subject, where you did your Masters was important, as employers or PhD places would be looking for specialist skills. He was lucky that teaching and research work were available but it would have been hard to find the time.

And a tip if you are aiming for a PhD, is to plan for a "gap" year (ideally filled with some research assistant work) after the Masters. The priority is to get a good grade, and since you effectively make applications in your first term, unless you have stayed at your UG University you won't know referees well enough.

Sorry all a bit arcane. Though the "what to do next" does start kicking in at this stage. Many are almost half way through. My UG days seemed to last for ever, yet as a parent it goes so quickly.

Some PhD programmes are only open to students who have done two-year Masters. The son of a friend did an MPhil at Cambridge and then had to do a second Masters in the same subject at LSE in order to be eligible for the PhD programme he wanted.

how much do they pay.

My understanding is it's a separate student loan running concurrently so they effectively pay 18% 'graduate tax' rather than 9%. I would very much like to be wrong about that.

Hello all, I came back from a week working in Manchester and my computer died. It has a disk error so I had to go out and buy a new one and then go through the palaver of setting it all up, getting new passwords etc. Still, no data lost and I am here. I can't believe term ends in a fortnight. DS has got an appointment for career counselling at the uni so hopefully it will give him a bit of direction. He's quite clear about what he doesn't want to do (teaching, law...) but has no clue what he does want to do so he's not applying for internships. Sigh....